The Secrets of Ice And Snow
by Green Gallant
Summary: Post-Holly Jolly Secrets. Haunted by nightmares of his past the Ice King must find the answers needed to exorcise his personal demons. Dark fic. Rated for upcoming themes. Ice King centric. What secrets does the crown hold?
1. Arctic End

_Author's Note: All right this is something I've been meaning to do for a long time. And well I must be honest this story probably will not be what you expect by the end. This one is going to be a lot darker and more morose than what I typically write. Hope you guys like it. Special thanks to my friend RiderPaladin for kind of 'betaing' it before hand. Enjoy_

_**Adventure Time Presents: **_

_**The Secrets of Ice and Snow**_

In the near morning hours in the Ice Kingdom, the Ice King thrashed about as he lay on his back muttering unintelligible ramblings while inside his mind the Ice King was subjected to haunting nightmares. In his dream the artic regent found himself in a dark void as a dark, malevolent voice called out to him from the shadows.

"_Ice King…" _a demonic voice said.

"Huh? Who goes there?" The Ice King said looking around confused.

"_Return what you have stolen from me Ice King. Return my crown._" The voice demanded as a pair of glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows.

"What do you mean _your _crown? These are my powers whoever you are…oh…oh boy." The Ice King said surely before turning around and seeing the demonic eyes.

"Uh…heh heh. Hey there buddy. W-Who might you be?" the Ice King asked nervously.

"_I am the owner of the crown. The one you stole from me." _ The demonic eyes said glowering. Ice King chuckled nervously tapping his fingertips together.

"You know stole is such a strong word. I merely borrowed it uh, found it! Yeah that's what I mean I found it. Heh heh heh…Uh You can have it back. I don't even want it anymore. Probably looks better on you anyway. Or at least I imagine it would since I can only see your eyes." Ice King babbled on.

"_Quiet! You alone must return my powers to me wizard." _ The demon voice ordered.

"Well why don't you take it? I mean your right here…" the Ice King tried to reason.

The eyes glowed as an artic frost sat in even colder than what the Ice King could tolerate as he began to shiver.

"_The reason why I do not take the crown myself is because I am locked in an eternal prison. Only the crown can free me and you as the current owner are the only one capable of releasing me! From this moment on you are under my control." _The demon responded narrowing its eyes to which Ice King took offense.

"Whoa, whoa wait! Nobody tells me what do Eye Guy. I'm King of Ice! Do you know what that means? And as long as I possess the crown and you're in whatever danky prison your trapped in I'm. Not. Doing it. And that's that. Neeh!" The Ice King replied sticking out his tounge at the demon.

"So stick that in your pipe and smoke It." he added snippily. The demon eyes glowed once more as ice demons were summoned in his midst.

"Oh come on! Really? Your summoning ice demons against me? Really how much more unimaginative can you be?" Ice King said rolling up his sleeves.

The ice demons hissed and threw themselves at the Ice King who blasted several of them into oblivion while more of them lunged at him. The Ice King used a second tactic whipping out an ice setsukon out of his sleeve and smashed the remaining ice demons with a single swing of his four section staff.

"There. I think that should prove who the better man here is." The Ice King stated matter of factly before the eyes made a hundred more demon minions show up.

"Oh…oh boy." He said. The demons quickly overpowered him as Ice King cried out.

The nightmare then started to turn as one of the ice demons strangling him turned into his human self Simon Patrikov. A look of anger and hatred was on the man's face and he wringed the king's neck. In the next moment the other ice demons attacking him were no more. The king looked around confused as only an enraged Simon remained.

"I don't understand." He stated simply.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" Simon snarled.

"No, why? Should I?" Ice King asked not recognizing him. Simon growled and threw himself at him once more.

Ice King's hands glowed as their digits locked together with Simon showing himself as equal. The two men struggled grappling one another's hands overhead each one battling for dominance.

"You stole everything from me!" Simon yelled.

"I don't even know who you are!" Ice King said alarmed. This only fermented Simon's anger as he started to overpower the Ice King's grasp. And actually lifted him above his head and threw him a considerable distance.

Simon then straddled the downed Ice King clutching his tunic with an angry fist drawn back and shaking.

"Hey wait let's talk about this…plegh!" Ice King started before being choked.

"Do you know what you've cost me?" Simon yelled.

"No I don't even know who you…" Ice King interceded before being beaten by Simon. The artic regent groaned as his human self continued to pummel him with his fist as the years of anguish and frustration flowed out of him.

Simon then turned around grabbing Ice King from behind as his arms stretched supernaturally throwing Ice King into the air before slamming him to the ground on his back. The artic regent groaned hovering in and out of consciousness as Simon's arms returned to their regular length and marched towards him.

"_You_ cost me the love of my life. _You're _the reason we're in this mess. I should have never found that crown. And now because of you I may never see my Betty again." Simon said with a devastating kick to the ribs that sent Ice King tumbling across the ground.

Ice King groaned as he lay on his chest and cradled his side as Simon walked towards him. His crown lay a considerable distance away from Ice King as he looked up at the bespectacled dark haired man.

"You…I-I remember you now. You're the man from the video." The Ice King replied finally recognizing him.

"My name is Simon Patrikov, the man whose life you _stole!_" he answered jamming the Ice King's face into the ground and knelt down beside him.

"I'm the man you could have been, _should_ have been! I was happy with my life until I came upon this cursed crown. You're the reason we're so unhappy. Because you took away the one person I would do _anything_ to get back!" he yelled grinding his face against the ground. He let go of the Ice King's head allowing him to breathe as he looked back at his counterpart.

"And now I'm stuck with you for all eternity." Simon said as his own hair started to turn white and took on the initial appearance of the Ice King, and began to manifest his own ice powers. Which horrified the Ice King himself.

"No, no you Cant." He begged as Simon held up his hands sparking with power.

"Long live the king." Simon replied darkly before finishing him.

"_Noooo!"_ Ice King yelled as a flash of white blanketed him.

The Ice King shot up in bed screaming having broken out in a cold sweat. Looking around his room in a panic he saw that no one else was there and that it was just a dream. The winter monarch breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down on his pillow and sponged his brow nervously, before hearing a squawk next to him.

The king turned to see a penguin staring blankly back at him.

"Oh…Gunter its you." he said.

"Wawk." Gunter chirped.

"Oh Gunter I just have a terrible nightmare." Ice King moaned looking up at the ceiling and realized he was still wearing his crown.

The regent removed his prized power source and stared back at it.

"Could it be that this nightmare is a sign of things to come? Or is it just a product of my own insanity?" he asked in a rare moment of clarity.

The Ice King moaned and put the crown on his chest as he tried to rest. A clock sitting on his nightstand read 4am. The Ice King continued to toss and turn in his sleep with his crown tucked safely underneath his arm and was having flashbacks of the Great Mushroom War. In his dream were fleeting images of him and Betty attempting to escape the carnage brought on by the war as they fled their hometown as explosions went off around them. Tanks had burrowed through the streets opening fire on an unseen enemy, as a fireball consumed one of the nearby tanks. Simon and Betty continued to run as their city was consumed by war Simon leading his fiancé by the hand running as fast as they could dodging gunfire overhead. Reaching the edge of the block it seemed as though they were in the clear until an explosion went off behind Betty throwing her into the air as she screamed.

Above the Earth a trail of massive explosions tore across the continent of Russia. From space massive red cracks started to appear and splinter across the hemisphere, more golden spheres bubbled across it before going up in an enormous flash that consumed the entire hemisphere blowing a large hole in the Earth itself. Again the Ice King woke in a sweat and sat up breathing heavily and wiped off his brow.

Later that day while Finn and Jake were out on an adventure in ridding a giant Cyclops, Ice King barged into the Candy Castle. Though the candy guards would try to assail him the Ice King made quick work of the guards and raced to see Princess Bubblegum and found her in her bedroom.

"Ice King! Get out!" Bubblegum yelled as she sat on her bed.

"Princess I must speak with you immediately." The Ice King implored.

"Not on your life!" she answered picking up the phone. Ice King froze her hand to the device before she could finish dialing and looked back at him. As the Ice King flew toward the middle of her room.

"Princess Bubblegum it's important…" he started.

"The answer is no Ice King. Guards!" she yelled out but didn't come.

"Princess you have to listen to me. I've been having night terrors every night this week." The Ice King implored.

"And this concerns me how?" Princess Bubblegum asked cynically.

"I think these nightmares I've been having are signs of things to come, real bad things. I…I need your help." He answered muttering the last part.

The Princess didn't trust him any further than she could throw him. And even though she despised him thoroughly for all the countless times he had kidnapped her. She could tell that he needed help, and wouldn't have turned to her otherwise. The princess sighed and relented.

"What kind of nightmares are they?" she finally asked.

A few minutes later Princess Bubblegum was released from the phone as she consulted one of her ancient tomes.

"I see so these night terrors you've been having seem to be flashbacks of the Great Mushroom War. To be honest little is know about the history of it or even what started it. Or who ultimately won the war if anyone." She answered while flipping through the pages.

"If you are as old as you say you are Ice King. Then it's possible that you may have repressed these memories of the war, burying them in your subconscious. And some recent event must have jumpstarted these memories causing your night terrors." Princess explained while looking back at him.

"But what about the voices I hear?" the king asked.

"I don't know. Psychopathy unfortunately is very hard to define. It could mean anything." Princess Bubblegum told him.

"In my dreams there were these demon eyes, saying that the crown belonged to it. I never actually saw anything else of it." Ice King admitted with embarrassment.

The princess narrowed her eyes trying to make sense of the Ice King's statements.

"Hmm…" she paused touching her chin. And checked her other ancient tomes.

"How did you say you came across the crown?" she asked looking back at him from the bookcase.

"Well I thought I stole it from someone originally. But the videos that Finn found said that I purchased it from a dock worker in Scandinavia wherever that is." The Ice King muttered. Princess Bubblegum seemed puzzled by this.

"Hmm. Maybe one of my ancient tomes can fill us in." she said taking another one off the shelf and leafed through its contents.

At that same moment Finn appeared in the doorway of Princess Bubblegum's bedroom.

"Hey Princess me and Jake were…Ice King! What are you doing here?" Finn barked dropping his sword.

"Finn here? Oh why am I not surprised?" the Ice King said with his powers at the ready.

"Finn wait, it's not what you think." Princess interceded.

"Don't worry Princess I'll protect you." Finn said drawing his sword and holding the blade sideways infront of his eyes.

"It's bad enough you harass me when I am doing something. But I haven't done anything wrong!" Ice King growled.

"Yet." Chimed Jake.

"I don't know how you got in here Ice King but I know how you're getting out." Finn told him.

"You guys are being ridiculous." PB said with hands on her hips.

"Why cant you guys just leave me alone? Why must you torment me so?" Ice King snarled.

"Because you wont leave the ladies alone." Finn replied further angering the Ice King.

"Enough!" Princess Bubblegum yelled grabbing their attention.

"The Ice King came to me for help. That's why he's standing here Finn. I appreciate your need to protect me but its not needed here." She chastised forcing Finn and Jake to stand down ashamed.

"We're sorry Princess." Finn told her.

"Yeah you better be." Ice King said with his hands on his waist.

"Ice King let me see your crown." She asked.

"Huh? Yeah sure." He said handing it to her as the princess examined it.

"What are you looking for?" Finn asked.

"There seems to be some inscription on the inside of the crown. Ice King have you noticed this before?" Princess Bubblegum asked.

"Huh? No not really." Ice King replied.

"What does it say Princess?" Finn asked her.

"_Whosoever weareth this crown shall gain the powers of ice and snow. But shall lose their heart and soul never to rise again._" she said reciting it.

"The Ice King's video diary mentioned the same thing. It took away his sanity and overshadowed his mind." Finn explained as the king wore a forlorn expression.

"Then…this crown really is cursed…isn't it?" he asked them. The others were silent as Finn and Bubblegum bowed their heads and Jake looked away. A blank though pained expression filled the Ice King's features as he put the crown on top a cabinet.

"I see now…this crown is the reason for my sadness." He replied softly.

"And because of it I can no longer remember my past life." the frozen monarch added.

"I'm sorry Ice King." Finn replied softly. The Ice King narrowed his eyes in determination.

"So what happens to me now? Am I to be unhappy for the rest of my life?" he replied with a hint of anger.

"All I want is to be loved. Is that too much to ask in this life? If that is my lot in life then I no longer want It." he added looking back at them.

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked.

"I'm giving up my crown." Ice King answered.

"But what will you do with it? You can't just let it lay around for someone else to take it." Finn told him.

"I'm taking it back to where I found it. Princess do you happen to have a teleporter on you?" Ice King asked.

"I've been working on one yes. It's down in the basement." She told him.

"Then take me there." the Ice King told her. Princess Bonnibel looked back at Finn and Jake who were at a loss of what to do.

"As you wish." Princess Bubblegum replied and left her bedroom.

Down in the basement the quartet descended the stairway as Princess Bubblegum led him to her transporter.

"I'm still working out all the kinks. But I believe that it shall transport us safely to wherever it is you plan on going." Princess Bonnibel told him. The transporter was a tall pink archway that stood around 12ft tall and was wired to a rather large control council.

"Let's get this over with then." Ice King said as they stepped off the last couple steps.

"I do feel the need to caution you though. I'm not entirely certain it works." She advised him directing their attention over to an apple cut open with orange slices inside it.

"I don't care." the Ice King replied. Finn and Jake shared a worried glance as Princess went to her council and began entering keystrokes.

"Ice King wait. You don't have to go through with this." Finn told him.

"What else is there for me to do? My life is meaningless now Finn. I'll be all right." Ice King smiled placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you for being such a great adversary and an even greater friend." Ice King said.

"Ice King no it's suicide. You'll be killed if you go in there." Finn implored him.

"My mind is already made up." he said walking towards the arch as it powered up.

"Ice King!" Finn yelled, as Jake had to tie him up with his arms.

The Ice King stopped short of the arch and looked back at Princess Bubblegum at the controls.

"You know of all the princesses I kidnapped over the years. You were always my favorite one. I love you." the Ice King said catching Princess Bubblegum off guard. Her look of shock then turned into one of sadness.

"You know that I cannot return those affections." She said remorsefully.

"I know princess. It's all right. Maybe I'll find my princess in the next life." the Ice King said serenely before stepping through the portal and vanished.

"_Ice King! Nooo!" _ Finn yelled and slipped free of Jake's grasp and lunged towards the arch entrance. But the Ice King was already gone as Finn was crouched on the spot the Ice King once occupied.

"He's…he's gone dude." Jake said regrettably.

"No…no it can't end like that. It just can't." Finn said before turning to Princess Bubblegum.

"How can you let him do that? How?" he yelled the princess bowed her head. Finn shook his fists violently and punched the ground as he started to sob.

"I am sorry Finn." Princess Bubblegum told him.

_Author's Note: All right bet you didnt see that coming. Let me know what you think of it. _

_Please review. (Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays)_

_Green Gallant. _


	2. Arise The Ice Monarch

_Author's Note: Hey I'm back with another chapter. Sorry for the wait. Hope you guys like it. _

**_The Secrets of Ice and Snow_**

**_Chapter 2_**

**_Ice Monarch_**

"Sorry? You just let the Ice King walk to what may have been his death!" Finn balked at the princess. Jake put a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Hey man look, the Ice King wanted this. And who knows he may have gotten though just fine. Doesn't necessarily mean he's dead right?" Jake asked Princess Bubblegum.

"There is the possibility yes. I haven't been able to test it out properly but I believe there…may be a chance he survived." The Princess stated, filling Finn with resolve as he got up.

"Then I'm going too. I have to make sure he's all right." he said to them.

"I understand Finn. Please be careful." She answered softly.

"I will." He said facing the archway.

"And wherever you go, I go. I mean heck, what am I going to do if you get killed as well?" Jake joked as he stood next to him.

"We're ready Princess." Said Finn, as Princess Bubblegum fired up the machine once more. A bright pink field of energy appeared within the arch as Finn and Jake stood on the precipice.

"You ready brother?" Finn asked.

"No… I guess." Jake replied looking back at him uncertain.

"Let's go." Finn said taking the first step through the portal. Jake was more hesitant to go while Finn braved the divide and soon found himself on the other side of the portal in one piece.

Finn's eyes widened seeing he was still alive and stuck his head back through the portal startling Jake and Princess Bubblegum but confirming he was alive.

"Jake you gotta see this." he said standing midway through the portal before disappearing. Jake reluctantly followed his buddy through placing a wary foot in the air and slowly stepped through.

Once through the pair found themselves in an unfamiliar land far beyond the reaches of Ooo looking at what appeared to be some kind of seaside village. As the vast expanse of ocean stretched out before them as far as the eye could see, with a dock that was quite and remains of a ruined ship tethered to the dock. There didn't seem to be much else aside from the mountains far inland and the shells of several houses that seem to have been blown apart.

"This is where Princess Bubblegum sent the Ice King?" Jake asked.

"Yeah it must be. So where do you think he is?" Finn asked as they surveyed the land. Jake wrapped his finger and thumb around his chin as he tried to think.

"What'd the Ice King say before he went through?" he asked Finn. His pal went into a similar pose as he tried to recall.

"He said something around returning his crown didn't he?" he replied.

"Yeah dude but…what else did he say?" asked Jake.

"He talked about how empty his life was." Finn answered.

"Yeah but what else? There was something important. Something I cant quite put my finger on." Jake stated trying to think. Finn gasped having an epiphany.

"The Ice King's crown! Remember the video? The crown made him crazy and turned him into the Ice King!" he said.

"Then this must be where he found it. Didn't the video say he got it off a dock worker or something?" Jake asked.

"Yeah he did." Finn said scanning the horizon once more.

"This must be it…Scandinavia." He stated.

"What else? What else did the Ice King said about those nightmares or whatever?" Jake asked. Finn thought for a moment but stared blankly back at Jake.

"I don't know." He said.

Up in the mountains, the Ice King scaled the highest and steepest one by hand while carrying his crown as he sought to return the cursed artifact to its source per his nightmare. The Ice King panted as he made the painful and perilous climb upward.

"This would be so much easier if I just used my powers." He muttered to no one.

"Wait a minute." He stopped and looked back at the jeweled ice crown.

"Why aren't I using it?" he wondered to himself.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to use it one last time. No this crown has caused me enough trouble as it is. But my hands are getting sore and I don't have much dexterity or strength to start with." he contemplated and looked up and saw he still had a way's to go as he was only halfway up the very steep mountain.

He sighed and was floating up the mountain a few minutes later with his levitation powers. Landing on a ledge a short time later. On the coast below Finn and Jake continued to look for him calling the Ice King out by name. But the Ice King was too far off to hear their plaintive cries. The Ice King used his powers again as his fists flashed and launched him up the mountainside in a spiraling flurry of snow that Jake caught sight of.

"Dude I see him! He's up there!" Jake yelled pointing in his direction.

"Let's go!" Finn said taking off as Jake stretched his legs. A short time later they were at the mountain's base, as Jake stretched his legs up to the peak. The pair finally caught up to the Ice King opposite him as they neared the summit.

"Finn? Jake?" he said.

"Ice King!" Finn shouted.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned riding the torrent of snow.

"What do you think we're doing here man? We're here to rescue you." Finn told him.

'Thanks guys but I don't need any saving. I'm doing what needs to be done." he said and shot past them.

"Faster Jake!" Finn yelled while Jake stretched out his torso to catch up with him.

The Ice King arrived at the cave close to the summit he had seen in his dreams and entered in. Finn and Jake overshot the Ice King's location and wound up on the peak.

"Where is he? He should have beaten us here." Finn said getting off as Jake returned to his normal self.

"I don't know man." Jake replied as they searched for him.

About 20 feet down the Ice King journeyed farther into the cave with his ice crown in hand. Wandering aimlessly in the dark he continued down the stony passage with no clue of what he was looking for. As it got dark the central ruby in the crown pointed a red beacon towards where it was supposed to go. The Ice King followed the beam leading him deeper into the stony abyss. While outside and still on the peak the boys searched frantically for the Ice King. Having concluded that he was nowhere to be seen, the boys journeyed down where they had last seen the Ice King and discovered the cave.

In the depths of the cave the Ice King finally made it to the owner's tomb as the beacon pointed directly at it. The Ice King raised his eyes in awe as a massive glacial skeleton loomed over him. The being was at least 30 feet tall and encased in ice holding its remains.

"My word." the Ice King muttered in awe. A pair of red eyes glowed within the skull as the undead being reacted.

"_Ice King I see you have finally answered my summons_." The creature answered in a low demonic voice.

"What…what are you?" the Ice King trembled stepping back.

"_The true owner of the crown. I am the Ice Emperor, Imperious Rex. A great and terrible being that ruled the land centuries ago." _ The undead creature announced.

"_Return to me my crown so that I am live again and be free of this prison." _ The Ice Emperor requested.

"I uh… I don't think I should." he replied meekly.

"_Fool! You have already made the journey here. Why on Earth would you come here only to deny me what is rightfully mine?" _ Imperious enquired. By this time Finn and Jake had made it to the Ice Emperor's dungeon and skidded to a stop.

"Whoa…what the stuff is that?" Finn asked.

"_I see you brought company as well. Ice King return to me my crown…now!"_ The Ice Emperor ordered and brought the Ice King under his psychic control.

The artic monarch's eyes went red as he fell under the Emperor's thrall.

"Ice King doesn't do it! You don't know what kind of evil you may unleash." Finn warned. The Ice King turned and looked back at them with eyes burning and a sinister growl surprising them.

"Ice King we don't want to fight you." he said getting into a battle stance.

"_Dispose of them Ice King and bring me my crown." _ Imperious Rex ordered.

"Ice King no!" Finn yelled.

The Ice King roared and fired an artic blast from his hands at them while Finn and Jake leaped over the blizzard and pounced on the Ice King with Finn drawing his sword overhead. The King formed a sword and shield of ice blocking their attack as Finn's sword and his made contact. Jake expanded his fist and punched his shield knocking back towards the Emperor's remains. Finn called his name before Jake remembered and threw the Ice King the other way.

But the damage was done as the crown lay before the monster's tomb. The crown rattled and flew up onto the Emperor's finger, revealing it as a ring and awakened the Ice Emperor from his sleep. Imperious' eyes glowed red as the cavern started to shake. The Ice King's crown reanimated the Emperor's body filling his body with ice and frost as the Emperor came to life. The cave shook violently as Finn and Jake stared at the awakening Emperor and rose up casting his shadow over the heroes, as his spell on the Ice King was broken.

The Ice Emperor stood for the first time in centuries with his arms reaching the ceiling and broke through causing the cavern to cave in on the retreating heroes as Finn grabbed the Ice King by the scruff of his neck. Outside the top of the mountain burst as the Ice Emperor was freed from his imprisonment and towered the mountain's façade as Finn, Jake and the Ice King emerged from the cave.

"_Finally! After all these centuries I'm free! And the Earth will again know the full wrath of the Ice Emperor!" _ The giant proclaimed.

The Ice Emperor in his fully realized state was a massive 30 foot tall being covered in ice and snow, with a long, glassy beard that jutted down at an angle and a long pointed nose, though not as long as the Ice King's wearing regal artic robes composed of ice and snow as himself, icy shoulder spikes and a Viking helmet with long wavy horns on each side.

Finn, Jake and the Ice King looked on in horror at the massive being not knowing what they have wrought upon the world.

"What have I done?" the Ice King wondered as the trio looked on.

_Author's Note: I know this isnt as long or as deep as my previous chapter. But I hope you guys enjoyed this installment. __Let me know what you think_

_Please review, _

_Green Gallant. _


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